Page 30 - Mountain Medicine Directory - Winter 2017

Partners in Hospital Safety:
Colorado Business Group on Health
and the Leapfrog Group

Safety at your hospital does matter. Up to 400,000 lives are lost every year because of preventable medical
errors. Leapfrog and the Colorado Business Group on Health are working for safer care for you and your families.
The Colorado Business Group on Health (CBGH) is an innovative non-
profit organization dedicated to changing the way that employers buy Employers and patients should
have a strong voice in the market-
healthcare. CBGH provides practical tools, pioneering programs, and
informative, insightful reports designed to support Colorado employers. place. Employers should make sure
CBGH promotes market-based, employer driven approaches to lowering that providers are accountable to
costs and improving quality. the patients they serve.

Why do we report on safety and quality?
Not all providers have high quality. We should be able to compare how a hospital, health plan or physician ranks
on cost and quality. We should get safe, timely, and effective healthcare for employees at affordable costs.

Why does CBGH work with the Leapfrog Group to report on hospital safety?
Not all providers have high quality. We should be able to compare how a hospital, health plan or physician ranks
on cost and quality. We should get safe, timely and effective healthcare for employees at affordable costs.

The Hospital Safety Score
The Hospital Safety Score assigns A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals. The scores reflect the
hospital’s efforts to prevent harm to patients. It is calculated by using publicly reported information including: the
rate of inpatient injuries and infections, and medical and medication errors. The Leapfrog Blue Ribbon Panel of
experts determines the grades. It makes its methodology and all underlying data openly available to the public.
Consumers can compare hospitals from state to state, and know that the process is fair.

Missing Hospitals? Missing Scores?
Not all hospitals are assigned a safety score. Why? If a hospital is very small, or sees very few Medicare patients, or provides care for a few, selected
conditions, there is not enough data to calculate a score. But, even if the hospital cannot receive a Safety Score, they can still report to the annual
Leapfrog Survey. Those results are on the Leapfrog website. Grand River and Vail Valley did not receive scores in Spring of 2016.

Glossary of Terms – Leapfrog Hospital Survey and Contents

CMS – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – This agency manages the Dangerous Bed Sores – Bed sores are also called pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers.
Medicare program that serves seniors and disabled persons. This is the source of much of They can be a common problem, and may occur in a hospital setting. The skin lesion often
the data used to calculate the Safety Score. results in significant pain and at times leads to serious infection.
Hospital Safety Score – A consumer-friendly letter grade rating of more than 2,500 Dangerous blood clot – Blood clots form when blood doesn’t flow properly. Often
hospitals on their record of patient safety, created by The Leapfrog Group. they occur in the deep veins of the leg. Blood clots can happen to anyone, but almost half
of clots strike patients when they are in the hospital or soon after discharge. The clot can
Leapfrog Hospital Survey Results – The gold standard program for public reporting travel to the lung, and cause death. It is regarded a one of the most common causes of
of hospital safety, quality, and resource use. preventable deaths in hospitals.
Patient falls in Hospitals – Falls resulting in injury are a prevalent patient safety Every Surgical wound splits open – A wound that splits open is a complication that can
year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of patients fall in hospitals, with 30-50 occur after a surgery. Risk factors include age, diabetes, obesity, poor closure of the incision
percent resulting in injury according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. after surgery, excess lifting or stress to the site, or infection in the wound.
C. diff. infection – A life-threatening bacterial infection. The infection, called C. diff
(Clostridium difficile) sickened 101,074 hospital patients in 2014, the most recent data
available, according to a March report from the CDC.

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